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SALT LAKE CITY -- Sadly, when it comes to eating local, instructors say there's no such thing as one-stop shopping.
University of Utah Lifelong Learning instructor Tara Poelzing said, "You do end up going to various stores or bartering for food, which is really fun."
But Poelzing says local grocery stores and restaurants are doing a better job of highlighting the food produced in Utah.
"If you're in a grocery store, you can typically ask and you will probably be led toward some local food," she said.
When it comes to eating local, Poelzing says meats may cost a little more, but she says they taste far better than meat shipped in from out of state. Poelzing says local farmers take big steps to make sure they don't use growth hormones. She says there are some good ways to find out about good deals on turkeys, chickens and eggs.
"It's McDowell Family Farm. What you do is get on the mailing list and they will email you updates about what's available when."
Utah is also home to many dairies. One of the most famous is Winder Farms, but here is a list of others including where Poelzing says you can find its products.
- Drake Family Farms that specialize in goat milk and cheese. Poelzing says you can buy products at Whole Foods.
- Finney Farm Home Dairy provides cheese to restaurants like Tony Caputo's Market and Deli.
- Beehive Cheese is produced in Utah, but it can be found all over the country.
- Snowy Mountain Sheep Creamery specializes in sheep cheese. You can also find these at Caputo's or online.
Other resources people can use to find local food include localfoodbee.com. It can help you find stores that sell local products and community supported agriculture programs where you can buy produce.
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"We had enough produce for the whole year and paid far less than in those years than we ever had any other year," Poelzing said.
She says there are several reasons why eating locally-made food is better than the alternative. For one, some food travels up to 1,500 miles to get to our plates. Not only does this use a tremendous amount of fuel, but many fruits and vegetables lose nutrients during transport. Plus, some fruits and veggies won't survive shipment at all. So, Poelzing says you get a greater variety of food if you eat what's grown in the state.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
